Baha'i Administration
by
Shoghi Effendi
Page 175 of  196

You will recall the references made in my previous communications, dated November 6, 1925, October 29, 1926, and January 1, 1929, to the forcible seizure of Baha'u'llah's sacred house by the Shi'ah of Baghdad, to the appeals which from almost every quarter of the globe have showered upon the authorities of Iraq for its restitution, to the long and unsuccessful legal proceedings to which the representatives of the Faith in that land have resorted, and lastly to the petition which they have addressed to the League's Permanent Mandates Commission setting forth the history of the case and appealing for the intervention of the Council in their behalf. I am now informed that after mature deliberation the conclusion arrived at by the Mandates Commission, urging that prompt action be taken to redress the wrong suffered by the Baha'is, has been duly communicated to, and adopted by, the Council of the League, which in turn will formally communicate the recommendations of its Commission to the Mandatory Power (175:9)

Decision of League of Nations
From the official text of the minutes of the meeting of the Mandates Commission, as well as from its authorized report to the Council, both of which have been made public, it is clear and evident that the terms of the conclusion arrived at are neither vague nor evasive, but set forth in unmistakable language the legitimate aspirations of an oppressed and struggling Faith. The decision neither implies compensation to the Baha'i Community for the loss of the sacred buildings, nor does it expressly provide for the expropriation of the property by the State. To quote from the text of the official document, the Commission has resolved "to recommend the Council to ask the British Government to call upon the Government of Iraq to redress without delay the denial of justice from which the petitioners have suffered." (175:10)

Get Next Page

  Baha'i Administration
  Citation Source List
: see